Tag Archives: Hero Arts

Everything’s coming up roses

Happy February! I’m enjoying all things Valentine at the moment and pulled out a delightful rose image from Wendy Vecchi and Stampers Anonymous to work with for a Valentine tag. I’ll share a few of my steps here, and you will see that this came together quite simply.

I began by stamping the rose image from the Stampers Anonymous SCS175, “Rosy Art” set by Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 onto plain white cardstock. This set has a really cute picnic basket and nice sentiments as well, but I decided to use just the flowers for the real estate I had to work with on the tag I’d chosen.

The really cool thing about this stamp set (and a number of others designed by Wendy) is that it comes with stencils! So you can add color to areas of your image easily while blocking out other areas. This set also has a mask that can be used to cover the roses, which means you can add color to the leaves without giving your flowers an inadvertent green cast!

I used Ranger Archival inks in Rosey Posey (appropriate!) and Red Geranium to blend color onto the roses with blender brushes. Post-it Notes are kind of requirement for me, which covered the open areas of the stencil if I got overly zealous with my blending. I didn’t photograph it, but I moved onto the leaves after this and used Fern Green and Prickly Pear Archival inks to color all of the leaves, also using the stencil. I filled in the area between flowers with Copic markers (E01 and E02) so it wasn’t stark white.

I had a tag in my stash that had a background already done using Red Geranium Archival ink and alcohol. I try to do a number of backgrounds at once, so I can just grab one when I’m ready to make a card or tag. If you’d like to know more about this background technique, Wendy Vecchi has a number of tutorials and wonderful classes that cover it and I highly recommend you check them out if you haven’t. With the color down, I stamped the Stampers Anonymous Vintage Tapestry background stamp onto it, also with Red Geranium for a bit of tone-on-tone. I then blended Acorn Archival onto the edges to give a more aged, vintage look.

I placed the trimmed out, colored rose image onto a chipboard wreath (Ranger Ink Chippies: Wreathes) for some dimension. Here you can see that I applied Acorn archival ink to the wreath to pick up on the aged look of the tag. To finish the tag, I doodled a white border onto the tag with a white gel pen, hoping to visually pull it together since the flowers have a white border. I popped up the roses and wreath on the tag with foam tape and also popped up sentiment (from Everyday Sentiment Strips by Hero Arts).

And there you have the finished tag. Please let me know if you have any questions. As you most likely know, you can also find me on Instagram and Facebook @penguiinpapers

To learn more techniques by Wendy Vecchi, join her Facebook group: INK…STAMP & MAKE ART with Wendy Vecchi and follow her on Instagram @wendyvecchi . She adds new content frequently.


Hey there, Pumpkin!

  • Stamps – Newton’s Nook Designs “Newton’s Boo-tiful Night”
  • Patterned papers – Echo Park “Bewitched” and “Halloween Magic” collections
  • Die – Little B – Circles
  • Sequins – Hero Arts
  • Cardstock – Bazzill

I stamped several Newton’s Nook images out recently for Halloween cards. The images are so cute! I colored this one with Copic markers and fussy-cut it out. I have so many fun Halloween papers, I just got some out and started playing with ideas. I decided on the plaid background and then I wanted some dots for contrast. I like repeating the dots/circles, so I added a circle die-cut and round sequins for some more interest. I kind of like the design I ended up with, so I may need to remember it for future cards!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Challenges:

Inky Paws Challenge #160 – Cozy Plaid Theme

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #456 – Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Inspiration Station Challenge #16 – Pumpkin Patch


Newton’s Kitty with Birthday Cupcake

  • Stamps – Newton’s Nook Designs – Newton Loves Cake
  • Die – Hero Arts Infinity Dies – Hexagons
  • Patterned paper – Lawn Fawn – Hello Sunchine Remix: Stella Remix
  • Cardstock
  • Embellishments – Doodlebug Sprinkles – Ladybug

I participated in the *virtual* Crop on the Cape, hosted by Jenn Shurkus, last weekend. I always enjoy Jenn’s “Creative Chick” online classes and am always happy to support creative small businesses who have certainly been impacted during the last year. I highly recommend her classes. There were lots of demos and challenges during the three days which made it lots of fun. I created this card for one of the challenges that was based on a color scheme and group of photos for inspiration. I had this Newton’s Nook stamp set in my stash and decided to use the current sketch provided for the Inky Paws Challenge on the Newton’s Nook blog to make some birthday happiness.

I colored the kitty and cupcake with Copic markers. The Happy Birthday sentiment is part of the same stamp set, along with some other cute images and sentiments. I kept the card simple with just a little dimension added to the hexagon and some epoxy stickers (I love that shiny texture on a card!) to finish it off. Thanks for visiting.

Challenges:

Newton’s Nook Inky Paws Challenge #144 – Sketch Challenge (sketch below)

AAA Birthday Challenge Game #23 – Patterned paper


Art Journal Spread – Cats Are Connoisseurs

  • Stamp – Darkroom Door “Sitting Cat”
  • Alphabet stamps – Hero Arts “ALPHABET: Letters and Numbers” and “alphabet”
  • Acrylic paints – Dina Wakley Media: Magenta and Tangerine
  • Scribble Sticks – Dina Wakley Media: Lapis, Cheddar, Tangerine
  • Collage tissue colored with Aladine Izink Pigment: Cactus and Topaz
  • Washi tape – Tim Holtz Ideaology

I created this art journal spread in my small Dylusions journal recently, inspired by Rachel Greig on Creative Jumpstart 2020. This is the third year I’ve done Nathalie Kalbach’s Creative Jumpstart and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants exposure to many mixed media styles without a huge time or financial investment.

I started by applying some strokes of acrylic paint to the pages. I layered the tissue paper (that had been in a shoe box!) that I’d colored with the Aladine Izink metallic inks over the top and then added a couple of strips of washi tape to the background. Once it dried, I journaled over the entire two-page spread with a silver Signo pen and then added the cat stamp and quote, which I’d stamped onto white cardstock. I stamped the Herriot quote with Hero Arts alphabet set that I’ve had for years. (The copyright on them is 2002!) I added touches of Cheddar and Tangerine Scribble Sticks and water on both and outlined around the stamped pieces and the perimeter of the pages with a Lapis Scribble Stick and water. A very fun spread to make!

Thanks for visiting.

 


An Authentique Butterfly Valentine

  • Dies –
    • Hero Arts Nesting Butterflies Infinity Dies
    • Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Hearts
  • Patterned papers – Authentique Romance collection: Romance Three, Romance Five, Romance Seven
  • Stamp – Avery Elle – Love Puffin
  • Red gems – Mark Richards – Red Dots 3mm
  • Cardstock –
    • Bazzill Basics Pink
    • Paper Accents Red Glitter

I love these Authentique Valentine papers and layering them is right up my alley. I created a multi-layered butterfly by cutting three butterflies from three different patterns and stacking them. I edged the wings with red ink and then stitched the butterflies in the center (for the body) with embroidery floss, making the head with a french knot. See the photo below for the stitched detail.

I mounted the triple butterfly onto the die-cut heart at an angle with dimensional adhesive and bent the wings up from the center to make the wings look as though the butterfly might take flight.

I then adhered the heart with the butterfly onto the background and in turn, onto the card base. I added the stamped sentiment in the lower-right, peeking out from behind the heart. I finished accenting the card with three red gems vertically down the upper-right side.

Thanks for visiting.

 

 


Agapanthus Thank You

  • Stamps – Hero Arts – Beautiful Day Agapanthus
  • Cardstock –
    • BoBunny Periwinkle Double-Dot
    • Paper Accents White Glitter
  • Ribbon – May Arts
  • Ranger Distress Oxide Ink – Shaded Lilac
  • Ranger Stickles™ – Diamond
  • Copic markers

I began this card by stamping the lovely Hero Arts Agapanthus onto white cardstock and coloring it with Copic markers. I edged the white cardstock with Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide Ink to subtly repeat the flower color. I created a background using matching BoBunny dotted cardstock and “slats” of white sparkle cardstock, attaching the background to the card base. I popped up the focal image with dimensional adhesive and tied matching ribbon with a sheen at the top of the card. The final touch was adding some sparkle to the flowers with Diamond Stickles™ glitter glue. I like how the colors and sparkle all tie together to make a cohesive card. Thanks for stopping by today.

Challenge: A Blog Named Hero – Crafter’s Choice


Sending Smiles

  • Stamps –
    • PaperArtsy – JOFY 62
    • Hero Arts – CM335 – Hero Greetings Sending Smiles
  • Stencil – PaperArtsy PS130 (Design by JOFY)
  • Acrylic Paints – PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylics: Sherbet, Bougainvillea, Vanilla, Antarctic, Glacier Ice
  • Watercolors – Prima Tropicals set
  • Embossing Powder – Stampendous Detail White
  • Cardstock – Bazzill
  • Brad – Lasting Impressions
  • Posca pens (black and white)

I created this mixed media card in phases. First I stamped out the flower stamps onto watercolor paper with Archival ink and added color with some watercolors. Once dry, I colored in areas with black and white Posca pens and added a few doodles of my own. After fussy-cutting the flowers out, I began working on the background. I made a number of gel plate prints using PaperArtsy Fresco paints and the JOFY stencil that matched the flower stamps. I selected one that I made with a small plate that framed the flowers nicely, then doodled around the perimeter and trimmed it out. I layered the flowers together and attached them in the center with a brad. I finished the card by adhering the flower to the background and adding a sentiment that I heat embossed. Thanks for stopping by.

Challenge: A Vintage Journey – Put Your Stamp On It Challenge


Distress Oxide Watercolor Florals

  • Inks – Ranger Distress Oxides:
    • Background – Squeezed Lemonade, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron
    • Flowers – Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Wilted Violet, Lucky Clover
    • Sentiment – VersaFine Clair: Medieval Blue
  • Stamps –
    • Hero Arts – F2665 – “A Real Field Wildflower” and H3259 – “Real Fuchsia”
    • Avery Elle – “Loads of Wishes”
  • Die – Spellbinders Nestabilities
  • Metallic embellishments – made with Imagine “irRESISTible” Silver Pico embellishing drops
  • Cardstock –
    • BoBunny Ocean Double-Dot
    • Neenah Solar White

It was fun to pull out these wood-mounted stamps that I’ve had for years (copyrights on the stamps are 2003 and 2005, when I most likely purchased them)! I started out by making the backgrounds with Distress Oxide inks and water in some of my favorite color combinations. Then I applied ink directly to the rubber stamps and spritzed them with water, then stamped onto the backgrounds. These stamps lend themselves well to a watercolor effect. For a clean and simple card, I just added a die-cut (split one between the two cards), and stamped a sentiment. For a final flourish, I added some subtle bling with the irRESISTible drops and mounted onto a white card base. Thanks for visiting.

Challenges:

Always Fun Challenge #56 – Flowers

Crafty Friends Challenge #82 – Flowers

 


Happy New Year – With Lots of Color

  • Patterned papers – Pink & Main “My Heart” 6 X 6″ pad
  • Stamp – Hero Arts – CM100 “Christmas Messages”
  • Dies – My Favorite Things Die-namics Blueprints 13
  • Cardstock – Paper Accents

I really enjoyed making this card because I got to combine all of the colorful strips of paper together. All of that pattern plays nicely together when it is separated by the black barriers! This is a great sketch. I added a few stars die-cut from gold metallic cardstock to make the sentiment a bit more festive.

Thanks for visiting and Happy New Year!

Challenges:

CAS(E) this Sketch #252

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Let’s Party!

 

 


Freshly Made Snowman

  • Stamps –
    • Stampers Anonymous The Art of Brett Weldele “Blizzy the Happy Snowman”
    • Fancy Pants Designs  “Merry & Bright”
  • Stencil – Creative Expressions mini stencil “Snowflakes”
  • Texture paste – Finnabair Art Extravagance Snowflake Paste
  • Inks – Ranger Distress Oxides: Cracked Pistachio, Faded Jeans, Broken China
  • Sprays – Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist
  • Sequins – Hero Arts Frost Sequin Mix
  • Vellum – Paper Accents “Light Blue”
  • Embossing powder – Stampendous “Aqua”
  • Cardstock – Kaisercraft KaiserCard “Neptune”

This card started out with Distress Oxide inks with the addition of Snowflake Paste through the snowflake stencil. I stamped the snowman and added some color with Copic markers, cut it out and adhered it to the background with dimensional adhesive. I heat embossed the sentiment on vellum and sprayed another scrap of white cardstock with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, cutting it in a strip and adhering it behind the background. I then wrapped the vellum around the snowman and background. To finish off the card, I added the festive sequins in threes above and below the main image. I used the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches for inspiration. Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches #317

A Vintage Journey “Winter Wonderland”